U.S. Economic Development Administration Invests $790,000 to Help Grow Agribusiness Cluster in Southern Georgia

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) today announced a $790,000 grant to the city of Nashville, Georgia, to help build a natural gas pipeline that will support the growth of the region’s agribusiness industry cluster.

“EDA is pleased to support this bottom-up plan to provide the basic infrastructure that local industry needs to grow,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine. “EDA’s investment does more than build a gas line – it builds the capacity needed to create jobs in the region’s critically important agribusiness sector.”

Agriculture, including forestry, is at the center of the local economy, and south-central, Georgia’s agri-business cluster is diversifying to include a variety of commercial enterprises and industrial manufacturing facilities. EDA’s investment will help a local lumber processing facility meet its current product demand and increase production. According to grantee estimates, EDA’s investment will help create 45 jobs, retain an additional 54 jobs, and generate $8 million in private investment. Given recent closures of businesses in the area and the resulting high unemployment in the area, this investment will help jump-start the process of economic recovery in the city of Nashville and Berrien County.

The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.